Valeria High
by TheDreamingButterfly
Summary: Modern high school au with the Tsubasa gang, and not just the main ones-also has xxxHolic characters as well . It was going to follow the series, but it is starting to get a plot of it's own... k/f s/s d/w su/sei ka/fu and maybe some others.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Students streamed into the courtyard as the bell rang to signal the lunch hour. Valeria High School was one of the top schools in the area, and was also host to a most unusual group of friends. All crammed at one table, eight varied students sat. Three freshmen, three juniors, and two seniors, they made for interesting company. The youngest, Syaoran, Sakura, and Tomoyo, were the best of friends, while still remaining close to the others. The juniors, an…interesting…trio, were Doumeki, Watanuki, and Himawari. But the two who stood out the most were the seniors. Kurogane was Tomoyo's older brother, and Fai was one who everyone largely thought was insane. No one really knew what their relationship was like, as Fai took great pleasure in pissing Kurogane off, though the larger teen had never gotten (too) violent with him, despite his being known as the guy no one wants to mess around with. At that moment, they were having another one of their many "exchanges".

"How the hell do you eat that sugary crap?" Kurogane asked in dismay as Fai shoved what seemed to be the seventh of many pastries covered in chocolate into his mouth.

"Because it's good!" Fai beamed. There was a mix of groans and laughter as he tried to forcibly feed one of the cakes to Kurogane. Still giggling, Sakura turned to Himawari and Tomoyo.

"Isn't it great that we have English together this semester?" she asked

"Yeah!" Himawari replied, smiling as she figured where this comment sprang from. Their teacher, who insisted on just being called Kamui, seemed to be in a similar situation to Kurogane, regarding a certain member of staff. Tomoyo chuckled.

"How is Fuuma these days?" she asked rhetorically. Finally having stopped "spreading the message of chocolate," Fai gave another bright smile.

"Alas, still no progress." Watanuki snorted.

"Is Fuuma even serious? That demented nurse could just be joking around, like he always seems to be doing." Tomoyo gave him a pitying look.

"There are a lot of things you don't see," she said, eyes flickering briefly to the silent teen who sat at his side, ignoring the frown Syaoran gave at her comment. Syaoran was very protective of his brother, even if he was two years younger than Watanuki, and he caught the gist of what Tomoyo was suggesting. Tomoyo was…observant, to say the very least. She could see some things no matter how hard someone tried to hide it, and so knew more things about the people at the table than even some knew about themselves, especially when it came to the feelings of others. She only smiled and went back to her food, knowing that at least one person was aware.

Doumkei, the one she had looked to earlier, followed her lead, though his focus was only half on his food. The reason for this was because Watanuki had beaten him to the table, and had sat next to Himawari. This worried Doumeki because Himawari was extremely accident prone, only the accidents didn't usually happen to her, just those around her. He had also caught Tomoyo's insinuation about himself, but didn't really care what she suspected the basis of his strong protectiveness of Watanuki was. Not that the boy himself ever seemed to notice, of course.

Syaoran, ignoring his consternation from Tomoyo's earlier comment, spoke up. "Don't you start working today?" he asked his brother. Watanuki made a face, pushing black hair out from under his glasses.

"Yeah, at that crazy lady Yuuko's antique shop."

"Yuuko?" Watanuki turned to Doumeki, bristling.

"What, do you know her?" he asked rather harshly.

"…Probably not."

"Then don't act like you know everything!" Again, one of the familiar exchanges that happened daily among the group. Knowing that the bell would be ringing soon, they started to gather the things that were spread around the lunch table. Watanuki was a fantastic cook, and so makes lunch for all of them every day. Whenever they tried to compliment him, he would blush and say that they didn't need to thank him, as they were his guinea pigs for all the recipes he wanted to try. It also meant that he had to carry all the containers home, and as Syoaran wouldn't be going home directly after school with him, his portion of the containers was left on the table, everyone knowing, but not saying, that Doumeki would be taking them, as they were neighbors in the same apartment complex.

True to their thoughts, they had barely finished clearing up when the bell rang. They said their goodbyes, going off in groups to the classes they shared. Kurogane and Fai had math, Syaoran to history, Doumeki and Watanuki to chemistry, and Sakura, Himawari, and Tomoyo to English. As the three girls walked into the classroom, they saw their young teacher looked up sharply, then back down at his papers in obvious relief. The girls smiled as they took their seats next to each other. Kamui got up from his seat on the desk as the bell rang.

"Everyone get out your copies of Romeo and Juliet and turn to Act II," he instructed. "You will read silently, and be prepared for a lecture over what you read." The allotted time for reading passed peacefully, and the promised lecture was barely begun when there came a knock on the door. Kamui visibly twitched as all the students looked up with various renditions of the same wicked smile. In walked a tall man with spiky black hair and odd round glasses, wearing a perpetual smile.

"Fuuma, if you would leave me alone when I am teaching…?" The smile grew.

"And miss your riveting lectures?" In a flash, he was next to Kamui, one arm slung around his shoulder as he plucked the book from the shorter man's surprised hands. "Romeo and Juliet, hmm?" He leaned closer, whispering in his ear, "For what's in a name? Is that which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet." Kamui pulled away, blushing.

"Is that which we call sexual harassment by any other name would get you just as fired." Fuuma's smile grew smug.

"And yet you never report me," he pointed out. Kamui snorted.

"As if Clow would do anything but be amused, the useless principal. I'd have to take it to the district office and you're not worth the trouble." Fuuma gave the class an aggrieved look.

"And here I thought he was finally warming up to me." The class snickered at Kamui's glare.

"You're the nurse, go back to doing your job!" Fuuma sighed dramatically.

"If my beloved wishes me to be gone, then I shall be gone."

"And good riddance," Kamui muttered, looking back down at the book that he had snatched back from Fuuma. The nurse paused at the door and said the last words of their daily routine.

"I love you."

"No you don't," Kamui replied, not looking up from the book as the door closed. "Okay," he continued from where he was. "Can anyone tell me why they think Romeo and Juliet acted the way they did…" And everything moved on as it normally did.

(...)

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Across campus, Doumeki wordlessly took half of the containers and walked out of the classroom with Watanuki. Without acknowledging his help, Watanuki grumbled his discontent.

"Can't believe I'm stuck walking alone with you. Syaoran had kendo practice with Kurogane again today." Doumeki grunted a reply, which caused another rant from the other about the use of using actual words. This lasted until they were passing the elementary school next door.

"…not that I'd care either way about what you'd have-oof!" He was effectively cut off as he collided with something. He managed to stay upright, though the containers he held fell to the ground. Watanuki ignored them as he saw what-or rather who-he had run into. It was a little girl, in maybe the fifth grade, with long hair and a rather despondent look.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Watanuki asked, checking her over for injuries. Seeing none, he sighed in relief. Both of them knelt to help Doumeki pick up the spilled containers. "So what's your name?" he asked.

"…It's Kohane," she said quietly. Watanuki smiled.

"That's a pretty name. Mine's Watanuki, and this great lump is Doumeki." Doumeki murmured a greeting as Watanuki glared at him. Kohane giggled a little at them, and his glare softened. "Here, let me apologize for running into you. Is there anything-"

"Excuse me!" The three of them turned at the sharp voice. A fashionable looking woman was striding towards them, tight look on her face. Kohane seemed to shrink into herself as the woman reached them, as Watanuki and Doumeki stood by warily. "Who are you?" she asked them harshly.

"Just people passing by, mother," Kohane said remotely. Kohane's mother glared at them.

"Stay away from my daughter if you please," she said coldly. "Come." She started walking away. Kohane gave them a small smile.

"I have to go. It was nice to meet you." With that, she followed her mother. Watanuki frowned after them.

"That didn't seem right to me," he said quietly.

"No, it didn't," Doumeki agreed. It was apparent that Watanuki was upset by what they saw, in that he didn't go into a rant about Doumeki and where he could shove his opinions. Taking advantage of the relative calm, Doumeki asked, "You like kids?" Watanuki shook his head.

"Well, I mean, I suppose I do, but she…reminded me of myself, I suppose." Doumeki did not like this answer. He had seen the lonely look on the girl's face, and had recognized it as the same on hat the bespectacled teen beside him often wore when he thought no one was looking. Doumeki had the sense that, despite the group of friends they had, Watanuki did not feel as if he truly fit in with them. Something else gave proof to that, something he saw when they had first met…

"…Didn't your job start today?" was all he said. And watched as the other started to flail wildly and start to run.

(...)

Meanwhile, back at the school, four of the friends were in the gym. Kurogane and Syaoran stood facing each other, practice swords in the ready position. Sakura and Fai sat in the stands, watching the lesson with interest, though perhaps different reasons for that interest. Fai had convinced a blushing Sakura to come along and cheer on Syaoran, who had also blushed when he saw that his pretty classmate was going to watch. Fai (and everyone else) had noticed their interest in each other, and was delighting in playing matchmaker. Also, it afforded him with more chances to tease Kurogane, something that he enjoyed, perhaps too much.

As they took a break, Fai smiled as he saw Syaoran blush at Sakura's praise.

"Tch. Idiot." He looked around to see Kurogane looking at him. "You always have to meddle in other people's lives, don't you," he stated, not bothering to phrase it as a question.

"They're too shy to do anything by themselves. I'm just giving them a little push in the right direction." Kurogane did not look convinced. Finally he shrugged.

"Not my business. Though if you smile like you just did, those fake ones you always wear are going to be more obvious." Fai smiled wider, not letting it falter despite the surge of panic he felt.

"I have no idea what you mean, Kuro-rin," he said in a joyfully mocking tone that made the red eyed man grit his teeth. But he didn't blow up as he usually did when called those ridiculous nicknames. He only gave the blonde a level look that said he wouldn't let himself be distracted, not this time. Message delivered, he turned back to teaching the kid how to use a sword, knowing that the idiot blonde was going to have his barriers up even stronger now.

They had met about a year before, having been forcibly paired up for a class project. He noticed that the hyper guy always smiled too damn happily, being that he never seemed to actually mean it. Something had obviously happened in his past, and he was trying to act as if it didn't, that much Kurogane was able to tell. This was the first time he had called the blonde out on it. He was getting tired of the plastic mask he wore, and was determined to tear it away, whether he liked it or not.

Fai had escaped to the bathroom as soon as Kurogane and Syaoran had continued their sparring. Looking in the mirror, he let his carefree façade fall, showing the bleakness that was always just below the surface. He stared into the blue eyes reflected in the mirror.

"I need to hide it," he whispered, "or maybe it's time to leave? If they ever find out about you, it will never be the same. I can't let hi-them know. They can never know."

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, it's a bit stilted, I know, I'll try to work on it! Anyways, this is a rewrite of something I (hand)wrote earlier, only it is starting to go in a new direction than before, so if things don't make sense, please give a shout! Also, it's kind of a start-in-the-middle, so be assured that all will be explained! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The next day, the sky was blanketed with thick clouds. Kamui didn't mind, as it suited his mood perfectly. His neighbor's dog had kept him up all night, and the dog looked a bit too wolf-like for his comfort. How the middle school girl who owned it took care of the beast was a mystery to him. He certainly didn't dare to try and shut it up. Also, he had to stay up late anyway to grade the essays on the first act of Romeo and Juliet, most of them turning out to be redundant pieces of rubbish. It was his first year teaching, and he wasn't sure if it was his teaching or the result of the modern students' mind that made them so bad.

He also knew that he would have to put up with more of that idiot Fuuma's sexual harassment again. If he knew what was good for him, the nurse should stay far away from him. Though Kamui had to smile a bit at the man's persistence of his delusional joke.

He had just opened the door to his classroom as his cell phone rang. He flicked it open absently.

"Hello?" His face melted into a smile as a familiar voice answered. "Hi Subaru! How are you?...Great, thanks…Something to tell me? Okay, how about lunch on Saturday, at the usual restaurant?...Alright, see you then. Love you…Bye." As he hung up the phone, a voice came from the open doorway.

"That was probably the softest look I've seen from you. Tell me, do I have a rival?" Kamui looked up to see Fuuma leaning against the doorframe, perpetual grin in place. He snorted.

"If you did have a so-called rival, I don't see what business it would be of yours." He had looked back down at the papers on his desk, and so missed the flash of jealousy, then surprise, travel through the tall man's eyes.

"So is it a significant other?" Kamui sighed.

"For your information, it was my twin brother." Fuuma's smile was back full force.

"I see. Obviously you two have a good relationship, which is more than I can say."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes, an…interesting person to say the least." On hearing this from Fuuma, of all people, Kamui made a mental vow to never meet that man's brother. The first of Kamui's students entered the room, interrupting with eager questions about her essay. As hers was actually one of the good ones, Kamui smiled and gave her the paper, a 92% on top. Fuuma realized that Kamui really seemed to love his job, purple eyes softening from their usual cold expression, watching as he greeted the students.

When there was a break between the students, Fuuma said, just loud enough for the teacher to hear, "Have a good day, Kamui." Kamui looked up, small frown on his face as he detected something…different in the nurse's voice. But he looked the same, grinning amicably.

"Okay…" he replied, giving him an odd look. "You too, I guess." Fuuma turned to go.

"I love you," he tossed over his shoulder.

"No you don't," came the absent reply. Fuuma continued on his way back to his often empty station at the medical office. He opened the door, and found that it was not as empty as he expected

"Why, hello, Fuuma," came a pleasant voice.

"Ah, Seishirou. Isn't this a surprise." The man frowned mockingly.

"What a way to greet your own brother." They both gave the same rather disturbing smile.

"So what do I owe the pleasure, brother dear, for you to visit me at work?"

"Oh, no special reason, just socializing and such that will make me appear that much more civil." Fuuma raised an eyebrow.

"My, my. Such effort. Tell me, have you finally lost the bet?" Seishirou only smiled.

"Ah, forgive me for noticing, but as you walked in, it appeared as if you found yourself the butt of someone's joke." Fuuma smiled.

"Indeed I am. And the joke was my own." He would say no more on the subject.

(...)

At midmorning, the threatening clouds finally broke, forcing those who usually ate lunch outside to scramble for tables in the crowded cafeteria. Luckily for the group, Fai had an uncanny ability to find what he wanted, and a table was procured for them. It also helped that he was very fast.

"So," he asked once they were all seated. "How did your first day at work go, Watanuki?" The boy paled.

"That woman is a slave driver!" he wailed. "She is the most insane person I have ever met!" Everyone present looked at Fai, then back at Watanuki. "Yes, even crazier than Fai."

"If that's not enough to scare the crap out of anyone," Kurogane grumbled.

"Crazy how?" Sakura asked.

"Ugh," he groaned. "She keeps going on about the inevitable and destiny, drinks like a fish, has a plush…thing…called a Mokona, sells the strangest things to stranger people-" He would have gone on if Doumeki hadn't chosen that moment to shove a piece of food into his mouth, effectively cutting off that particular rant, though it led to another one immediately after. Doumeki merely plugged an ear and ignored him.

When he finally paused to take a breath, Doumeki said, "So it turns out that my grandfather knows Yuuko," he said. "They used to be drinking buddies a while back, it seems." Watanuki looked disturbed.

"Just how old is she? No, never mind, I do not want to know." Tomoyo giggled.

"We might have to visit you at work sometime, then," she said. Watanuki frantically shook his head.

"Believe me, you do not want to do that. She will trap you in her clutches!"

"Her clutches…? Brother, you are losing it," Syaoran said, laughing.

"Oh, that happened long ago," Watanuki said dismissively. "And are you taking thirds, you great oaf!" Doumeki shrugged and continued eating.

"Speaking of big eaters, does Yukito still come over often?" Tomoyo asked Sakura. She nodded.

"Yeah, he and Touya are actually having one of their study marathons this afternoon, if you want to come over and say hi." Touya was Sakura's (very overprotective) big brother, a second year in college. Yukito was his best friend since high school, though Sakura would swear up and down that they were more than friends. No one could really contradict her once they saw how gentle the usually prickly Touya got around his "friend".

"I'd love to come over," Tomoyo said, then glanced at Syaoran out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sure Syaoran would like to come as well, since we could join them and study for our math test while we're there, don't you think?" Syaoran blushed brightly as Sakura beamed.

"That's a great idea! But, does he have kendo practice after school?" Syaoran looked beseechingly at Kurogane.

"Tch. I've got things to study for, so not today, kid," he said, not looking to see the gratefulness in the kid's eyes. He had it bad for the girl, that much was obvious to anyone with eyes, and he wasn't that cruel.

"Aw, Kuro-softy's such a pushover," Fai crooned in his ear. He took a swing at the blonde, knowing that he would just avoid it. He had been right in his assumption: the idiot had that fake smile plastered on bigger than ever. Fai was smart, one of the smartest people Kurogane knew, but if he was stupid enough to think that smile fooled everyone, he was very much mistaken. And it was only a matter of time before the lie he wore would shatter into a thousand pieces.

(...)

After school, Watanuki waited impatiently for Doumeki to catch up. The rain had stopped sometime in the afternoon, but clouds still lay low in the sky. The often silent teen had noticed his loud companion's preoccupation with the clock, and knew that he wanted to see if that girl was going to be at the same place today as well. Sure enough, as they approached the elementary school, Watanuki started to turn his head, obviously looking for someone. His eyes lit up.

"Kohane!" The girl turned, smiling shyly as she saw them. "I wanted to properly apologize for yesterday," Watanuki continued once she was near them.

"That's fine," she replied quietly. "You don't have to."

"Just because I don't have to doesn't mean I don't want to. You seem like a nice girl, and I'd hate to have caused you any trouble." He dug around in his pack for a moment before pulling something out. "I started to work in an antique shop yesterday, and my boss gave me this. She said she couldn't sell it, but I could give it to a friend who I though could properly appreciate it, and I thought of you." He pulled out a small glass butterfly, colored black and red. Kohane gasped in delight, but immediately bit her lip.

"I couldn't take that. Really I couldn't." Watanuki grinned.

"Of course you can. It doesn't suit any of my other friends, and you know you love it." Still she hesitated.

"Wouldn't your mother like it?" The smile on Watanuki's face fell and Doumeki took a step closer as if he could offer some kind of support.

"My parents are dead," he said quietly, "and I've no memory of them, or most of my past." Kohane gasped, immediately contrite.

"I'm sorry," she said. Watanuki smiled, if a bit less brightly than before.

"It's no trouble. You couldn't have known. Anyway, I insist that you have it, with the only requirement being that we be friends. Would that suit?" Kohane nodded, more eagerly than before. The clouds chose that moment to begin to spill down water onto all those outside. Noticing a lack of an umbrella in the girl's hand, Watanuki immediately offered his own for her to borrow.

"I insist," he said. "This way, we are sure to meet again when you have to return it to me."

"But what about you?" she asked.

"I'm more resilient than you, and my work is only a street or so over." She accepted the umbrella along with his answer as the rain started to come down harder.

"Thank you," she said, before she started towards the parking lot where her mother would soon be to pick her up.

"Idiot," Doumeki grumbled, holding his umbrella over them both.

"Not an idiot," he answered, though without his usual heat. Due to the lack of umbrellas and the general downpour, Doumeki accompanied Watanuki to the antique shop, so that the other wouldn't get sick, and to satisfy the curiosity he felt to see just how odd this shopkeeper was.

The shop was in an older style of architecture, and the word "Hitsuzen" was on a sign hanging from the eaves, decorated with a moon and a butterfly. They walked into the shop.

"Welcome!" Two girls walked in, both carrying boxes. Doumeki raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"Her adopted nieces…?" came the rather vague reply.

"Please, invite your friend in," came a different voice. Watanuki frowned, but beckoned Doumeki further into the shop. A tall woman appeared from the back, dressed in a rather outlandish outfit that she still managed to pull off, however low cut it was. Long black hair framed a pale face sporting a secretive smile. It was as if she knew something that no one else did. Doumeki was somehow certain that she and Tomoyo would get along famously.

"You must be Doumeki," she said. He glanced at Watanuki, whose expression was perplexed. "No, he did not tell me, you just bear remarkable resemblance to your grandfather. Please tell him to stop by soon." Doumeki nodded, taking her commanding and knowing attitude in stride.

"Oh, but this is perfect!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together gleefully. Watanuki immediately went on guard, knowing already never to expect anything good whenever his boss was that cheerful. She was looking at Doumeki, a rather evil glint in her eye.

"Your friend is just the person who can help you run a particular errand I need done…"

…and Doumeki suddenly knew that he was going to be "helping" quite often, if that grin was anything to go by.

* * *

A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Anyways, fair warning, I am going to nationals for a club, so I won't be able to post for at least a week. Also, this is where my written parts end, so it's all unplanned from here o.O


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

A bell rang at the front of the shop, signaling to Yuuko that a customer had arrived. She walked out of the storage room, wearing her best "friendly shop owner" smile. Her smile turned much more genuine when she saw who her guest was.

"Haruka! I thought it would take a bit longer for you to get enough to courage to come here," she greeted.

"Well, our last encounter was…hair raising to say the least." Haruka, Doumeki's grandfather, smiled in return at his old friend.

"Please, come in and tell me about all that has been going on." As they conversed, Maru and Moro, Yuuko's "adopted nieces" delivered them tea and snacks, though he hadn't seen the shopkeeper ask it of them. The conversation drifted until it hit upon the subject of his grandson.

"So, I met Doumeki the other day," Yuuko said silkily. "He's quite an…interesting person."

"You mean that fact that your waving cat statue has more emotion on its face than that boy ever does?"

"More or less. And the way he seems to be around my dear employee." Haruka nodded.

"Watanuki. That boy I worry about." Yuuko's face grew serious.

"I know. He seems so…empty, as if that loud personality is largely a cover for what he really feels. And I get the sense that his true feelings are not something that need to be felt."

"You got that right." Haruka sighed. "I don't really know what happened, but on the day that Watanuki and his brother moved in to the apartment next to ours, Doumeki had been outside, running an errand. When he got back he had this troubled look on his face, and if it was visible, then something must have bothered him a lot. We hear this banging and muttering outside, and when we take a look, this skinny kid is trying to get a huge box up the stairs. As soon as he sees the kid, Doumeki just kinda freezes for a second before going to help, even though he gets yelled at for his trouble. After Watanuki and his brother get settled, Doumeki comes to me and asks me to get him signed up for archery again because, get this, he said he 'has something that he wants to protect'. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that whatever had bothered him earlier had something to do with Watanuki."

"Do you know anything about Watanuki's past that could contribute to this?" Yuuko asked, brows furrowing in consternation.

"Doumeki got it out of Syaoran, the brother. Apparently, when their parents and Watanuki were in the car, they got into an accident. Watanuki was the only survivor, and he lost all of his memories from before then, though he somehow knew that he knew Syaoran."

"Memories of the body," Yuuko murmured.

"Hmm, maybe. Anyway, the boy somehow thinks he is responsible for his parent's deaths, and probably thinks that his brother blames him, or least should."

"A common thing for people in these situations. Survivor's guilt. I'll keep an eye on him when he's in the shop, and I'll recruit your grandson to help out as well."

"Now you're just going for free labor."

"Why ever would you think that, my dear friend?" she asked, hiding a wicked smile behind a well-manicured hand.

"Experience."

"Eh, can't argue with that. Or with the fact that one must wonder at all the reasons that your grandson wants to stay close and protect Watanuki." Haruka got a hunted look on his face.

"I don't know exactly what Doumeki wants, and I try not to think about. As long as he remains uninterested in anyone, the longer I can avoid giving him 'the talk'." Yuuko grinned.

"I could always-"

"No!"

(...)

A few blocks away, Tomoyo sighed.

"What is it?" Sakura asked. She, Tomoyo, and Syaoran sat around the table in the living room of Sakura's house.

"Just wishing I had a fellow matchmaker to converse with," Tomoyo said, sighing again.

"Doesn't Fai like to mess with people's lives?" Syaoran asked.

"I mean someone who isn't one of the people that need to get together with someone close to them." They were saved the need to answer as the door opened.

"I'm home," Touya called. "Yuki's with me." Yuki, also known as Yukito, walked in after Sakura's brother.

"Hello! I hope I'm not intruding."

"Course you're not. I invited you, remember?"

"We don't mind! You're always welcome here!" Sakura said, smiling brightly.

"Little monster, I'm making dinner. See if the brat and Tomoyo want to eat here."

"I'm not a monster!" Sakura huffed. "And Syaoran is not a brat! Do you guys want to stay for dinner?" Syaoran, who was still slightly flushed form her words, nodded jerkily.

"Of course we'd like to stay!" Tomoyo said brightly. Sakura smiled, then went to the kitchen to help her brother with the food. Tomoyo turned to Syaoran. "So, when are you going to tell Sakura that you like her?" Syaoran choked.

"I beg your pardon?" Tomoyo raised an eyebrow with a sympathetic look.

"It's kinda obvious. Why do you think that Touya dislikes you so much? He's one of the most overprotective older brothers I've ever had the occasion to meet!" Syaoran fidgeted uncomfortably.

"She's my friend. I'm not going to ruin that, so I'll take what I have." Tomoyo frowned.

"But, can you be happy with that?"

"I'm happy whenever I can be around her," he answered. Tomoyo sighed.

"You're too honorable for your own good." Yukito called them in for dinner, and no more was said on the subject.

(...)

It was past eleven Saturday morning when Kamui arrived at the restaurant Subaru had wanted to meet at. He found his twin already seated at one of the outside tables of the small café.

"Subaru!" he called, smiling as his brother looked up in surprise from whatever daydream he had been trapped in.

"Kamui," he answered, embracing his brother. "How have you been?" Kamui shrugged.

"Same old, same old. Lazy students, perverted nurse, the usual." Subaru laughed.

"Your life never seems to be boring, I'll tell you that."

"Though I sometimes wish it was," Kamui sighed, old memories brushing the edge of his thoughts. Subaru bit his lip, knowing that he tread on ground better left untouched. "So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Kamui asked. Subaru blushed.

"W-well, I'm kind of seeing someone," he whispered.

"That's great!" Kamui grinned. His smile faltered when Subaru cringed. "Unless it's not. What-? Oh, no. No, please tell me you did not give that bastard a second chance."

"Well…"

"Subaru, really? After what that jerk did-"

"It appears that I'm being talked about," a new voice entered the conversation. "Kamui, how good to see you again."

"Seishirou," Kamui glared at the man that appeared behind his brother's seat.

"Kamui?" Kamui glanced around in confusion, then saw who had been previously hidden behind Seishirou.

"Fuuma? I would accuse you of stalking, but your surprise seems to be legitimate."

"Well, here I was about to be introduced to the person who seems to be completely turning my brother into a rather more pleasant stranger, and it seems to be the person who looks very related to you," Fuuma grinned. "What a lovely coincidence." Kamui groaned letting his head fall to the table.

"Kill me now. First my brother is back with the rat bastard that hurt him before, and he turns out to be the brother of my perverted nurse." He didn't realize his mistake until Fuuma's smug grin registered.

"He called me _his_ perverted nurse, did you hear? My love is finally reaching him!" he said gleefully.

"You do not love me!" Kamui snapped. He froze, then glanced at Subaru, who looked surprised, and looking as if he was realizing something. "I'm going to the restroom," he muttered, leaving with a slight flush on his cheeks. Fuuma watched him leave, wondering if he had missed something significant.

"What was that all about?" Seishirou asked, stealing Kamui vacated seat. Subaru bit his lip, but seemed to decide something.

"How long has he been denying it like that?" he asked seriously.

"Since about two or three months after we met. Why?" Subaru sighed.

"Oh, dear," he said quietly. "This complicates things."

"Why? What does it matter, well, to you, if he is like that?" Fuuma demanded.

"It means he doesn't want you hurt," Subaru said.

"I don't follow," Fuuma frowned.

"Ever since he was little, those who he loved or loved him have not had the best of times, as he sees it. It was when he was with our mother that she died in a fire. A girl he had been with, Kotori, was killed. Things like that have made him think that people should stay away from him if they want to remain unharmed."

"But what about you?"

"Well, I had been hurt, but not by him. He just blamed it on himself." Subaru glanced at Seishirou, who actually looked contrite.

"So the fact that he says that I don't love him is his way of saying that he cares for my well-being?" Fuuma asked slowly, hoping that he had gotten that right. Subaru nodded. "Yes! I have more of a chance than I thought."

"Though, this is the part that has me telling you that if you ever hurt my brother-"

"You'll kill me?"

"No," Subaru smiled angelically. "I'll sic your brother on you." And that was the scariest thing that he could have said.

"This one owns my leash now, so you'd better listen," Seishirou added with a feral grin. They saw Kamui coming back from his time in hiding.

"Okay, can you two leave so I can spend some time, alone, with my brother?" he growled as soon as he got close enough. Seishirou shrugged, and leaned down to kiss Subaru's forehead before he stepped back, causing the younger man to blush brightly. Kamui bristled and would have caused a scene if he hadn't found Fuuma taking his hand.

"Till Monday," the nurse murmured before brushing a kiss to the back of his hand. He walked away with his brother as Kamui stared stupidly after him, hand clutched to his chest.

"What…?" he finally got out. He looked over to find Subaru looking at him with a small smile.

"You like him, don't you," he said, not really asking. Kamui blushed violently.

"W-Why would I? He's pushy, and annoying, and interrupts my class and, and-"

"And you can't fool me, brother," Subaru said kindly. Kamui groaned.

"What should I do? I have too much baggage for any kind of relationship, and you probably spilled a lot of stuff to them when I was gone." Subaru shrugged.

"It needed to be said. And shouldn't you leave it up to him to decide if he thinks you're worth it? If he doesn't see that you are, then he is a blind fool with no sense," Subaru declared with conviction. Kamui smiled crookedly.

"You always tried to see the best in me. He's most likely just messing around, and will forget about me soon enough."

"I wouldn't bet on that if I were you," Subaru muttered.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. But you'd never guess what happened at the zoo the other day…"

* * *

A/N: I finally got another chapter up! Finished very, very early in the morning! Go insomnia! Yeah, so people got a little ooc here a bit, I think, and I have not read x/1999 at all, so I don't really know how many other tragedy-like events I could add to our dear Kamui…and I wanted a happier ending for Subaru. Seishirou is a jerk, but Subaru loves him, so…


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Blue eyes stared down in horror at the distant ground, blood slowly staining the tiles red. He collected himself, and ran towards the stairs, ignoring the figure that stood beside him, heart pounding along with the refrain of "please let him be alive, please let him be alive, please, …" The twelve year old ran out the door to the patio that the balcony overlooked. He cradled his twin's still body to his chest, gasping out sobs when he realized he wasn't breathing. Footsteps came at a calm pace from behind him, and he felt a shiver of fear run down his spine._

"_Oh dear. It appears he's dead. See the trouble you cause me, Yuui? It's your fault, you know…"_

Fai woke with a start, tears and sweat flowing down his face. The memory came to him every night, his haunted past never making him forget the guilt and horror of that day. That was the day his former life had ended, and he had been running ever since. But he had made a mistake. And that mistake was getting harder and harder to extricate himself from.

Kurogane.

He had been delighted when he'd been assigned such a prickly partner for that project. It had been so much fun to annoy him and see his reactions. So much fun, that he had crossed the line he had set, to stay away from others so that they could never find out about his past. He had become attached; staying around him even after the project had been finished. More than attached, if he was being honest with himself. He had found himself with people he had fun with, had actually started to care about. But he was tired, so tired of the burden of his memories, and that…that he could be found by the person he feared the most. He sometimes caught himself looking at Kurogane and thinking, maybe he wouldn't care, maybe he could help…

But this was a mistake. He needed to make sure that no one else could cross the line. Most certainly not himself.

(...)

The idiot was acting more…well, idiotic than usual. And he wasn't the only who was noticing. Kurogane mentally cursed himself. It was most certainly his fault for calling the blonde out. Well, he could deal with it. He wasn't going to let the moron lose himself in some sort of false life. He hated people who didn't bother to live the life they had. Chances are they only had one to live, so it's best to make it worth living. He was starting to lose his temper when he was avoided for the fifth freaking time that day. And it was only lunch time, for crying out loud! Finally he grabbed one thin arm, pulling the surprised figure close so that only he could hear what he had to say.

"Look, I don't care about your past. It's the present you that matters to all these people you're worrying. And don't tell me you don't care about them, too. I've seen the way you act around them. So shape up and figure out where you stand." Fai blinked at him, clearly surprised as Kurogane let him go. He gave a small, inscrutable smile and went back to his food, though Kurogane noticed with some satisfaction that he went to back to being how he usually acted. Still hiding, but not drawing away. But he knew that it wouldn't take too much to make him shy away again.

"What did you say to Fai earlier?" Tomoyo asked later that day. Kurogane shrugged.

"Nothing much. Just enough to get him to pay attention to the present, and not whatever happened in his past." Tomoyo gave him an appraising look.

"You always surprise me whenever you again prove to be more perspicacious than everyone realizes. Though I think part of it is due to the fact that the other party is Fai." Kurogane glared suspiciously.

"What the hell are you implying?" His sister smiled innocently.

"Nothing!"

"Tch. Whatever."

"By the way, it appears that Doumeki has been recruited to help with Watanuki in his various errands at the place he works at."

"And?"

"Well, according to Syaoran, it is proving to be most interesting." Kurogane frowned.

"But doesn't the kid not like that Doumeki is so protective of his brother? I mean, even I notice it."

"Well, after what happened with their family, it's no wonder that Syaoran would be worried about his brother. He'd be worried if anyone he thought had the capability to hurt his brother got close like Doumeki has." Kurogane snorted.

"As if that stoic kid is ever gonna willfully hurt Watanuki. He does his damndest to make sure nothing bad ever happens to him, from what I've seen." Tomoyo gave a patient smile.

"But he still has the power to hurt him. Watanuki might not show it, but he actually does care about Doumeki. Knowing him, he just feels flustered around him, making him unsure how to act." Kurogane shrugged.

"We'll let them worry about their own problems. They can sort it out with each other, once they figure it out for themselves."

"Pot calling the kettle black," Tomoyo muttered.

"Eh?"

"Nothing!"

(...)

Yuuko smiled as she heard a raised voice outside the front of her shop. She got up, anticipating her employee's entrance. Sure enough, Watanuki walked through the door, barely glancing around as he continued spouting out the calm boy next to him, who had a finger plugging one ear.

"…and all I'm saying is that I don't think that her mother should be treating her like that!" Yuuko frowned.

"What is it you two are talking about?" Watanuki hesitated, glancing at Doumeki, who gave a small nod.

"There's this little girl we talk to on our way here. Her mother is…She doesn't act as a mother ought to, I think! She doesn't call Kohane by her name, she doesn't touch her, she's always mean, and-" Doumeki put a hand on Watanuki's shoulder to calm him down. Watanuki sighed in frustration.

"Wait, did you say Kohane?"

"Yes…?"

"Well, I'm guessing the mother doesn't like you around Kohane. If I am correct, that girl is actually getting rather known. She's played minor parts in several dramas that were well received." Watanuki's eyes widened.

"No wonder her mother hates us. But I don't want to leave her alone."

"And it's good that you don't! Imagine how lonely she must be! Children's jealousies can hurt more than those same feelings shown as adults, and you can be sure that child won't find people her age with your state of mind."

"My state of mind…?"

"Yes! The first thoughts you had were not 'how can I put this to my advantage' but 'how lonely this girl must be'. That is a rare frame of mind in this day and age, where people always look to their own gain first." Neither of the teens questioned the fact that she now seemed to have the ability to read minds. "Stay her friend. You just might be able to help each other in the future. But first, I have a job for you two. I need you to deliver this cage…"

Doumeki thought on Yuuko's words. She had said that they might be able to help each other in the future. He could only hope that it could relieve some of the loneliness in his friend. He didn't care if it couldn't be him. Anyone would do. He had seen some of the looks that Yuuko had given Watanuki when the smaller teen hadn't been looking. He figured his grandfather had told her some of his past, and probably spoke of his own protectiveness of Watanuki. But he knew that his grandfather did not know what he had seen on the day they had moved in.

He had been walking home with the groceries his grandfather had sent him to get. In an alley about a block away, he had seen a figure hunched over something. He saw that that the boy held a cat in his arms, already dead.

"I wonder if I will be like you," he heard the boy mutter blankly. "Dying alone, and not knowing the life we should have had." Doumeki was not at all accustomed to feel things deeply. Things happened, he dealt with it, then moved on. But the words from a boy his own age, said with that kind of emptiness, that struck him to the core. When he saw that the boy would be his neighbor, he knew that he would make sure that he would not be alone, in any way he could.

Watanuki did have Syaoran, but they were separated by the unfounded guilt and lack of memories on Watanuki's part. He had the group they hung out with, but Doumeki had no doubt that Watanuki saw the world in a different light than the rest of them. He honestly had no idea where he stood with the other. He supposed things would go one way or another, in time. He would continue, day by day, to help the one he cared about.

(...)

A man sat at a computer, clicking through pictures from many different high schools. He did this for hours, every day, looking for one person. He would continue to search, to find that person and bring them to where they belonged. One caught his eye, and he flipped back, eyes fixing on a blonde figure with a large smile. A smile of his own grew on his face.

"I finally found you."

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's shorter than usual, but I was having major writer's block. I'm always trying to decide which bits from the stories I should put in, and in which order…frustrating…And again, thank you insomnia for keeping me up to write this!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Tomoyo and Syaoran were waiting for her when Sakura came to school one morning, very pale.

"What's wrong?" Syaoran asked, trying to subtly look her over for any signs she was in pain.

"My brother and Yukito are in the hospital," she said quietly.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura sniffed.

"There was an accident-Yukito lost a lot of b-blood, and T-Touya had the same type, so he had to give him a l-lot." She finally broke down crying, obviously very worried for her brother, and the one who she also considered family. Without really thinking about, Syaoran wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her as best he could.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "They're going to be fine, you'll see." Sakura turned into him, seeking the comfort he was giving.

"You should go to them," a new voice said. They looked over to see their principal, Clow Reed, standing with a gentle smile. "I will excuse you from your classes, all three of you…?"

"Just Syaoran and Sakura, if you please," Tomoyo said firmly as the other two seemed too confused to answer. "I have an important test today that I cannot miss." Clow nodded sagely.

"If you two wish to leave know, I believe the hospital is just down the road?" After a moment, Syaoran nodded and started to lead Sakura in the direction they needed to go.

"You look at everyone so kindly," Tomoyo said with a smile at the principal.

"I could say the same for you, Miss Daidouji," was his reply.

(...)

When Sakura and Syaoran arrived at the hospital, they were directed to the room where her brother and friend were staying. Yukito was awake, sitting up in his bed, but Touya was still sleeping. Seeing the direction of Sakura's gaze, Yukito's face clouded in sorrow.

"He had to give so much blood for me. The doctors say that he will be fine, just that he will be sleepy a lot for a while when his body is trying to gain all the blood back.

"Yukito, stop it," Sakura said firmly. He looked up, surprised. "Don't blame yourself for this. My brother decided to do this of his own free will, because he cares about you. When he wakes up, be sure to thank him, and don't even think about apologizing." Yukito and Syaoran both blinked, startled, before Syaoran smiled.

"She's right. We all make decisions that we feel strongly about. Touya made a decision to save you, so don't make him think you don't respect his own decisions." Yukito chuckled at that.

"It seems that I am outnumbered." He frowned. "Wait, shouldn't you be in school?"

"Our principal said that we could come," Syaoran shrugged. Yukito's expression grew reminiscent.

"Still Clow? He usually got in more trouble with the district than the students did…"

"Yeah, sounds the same." They sat in the chairs provided and began the wait for Touya to wake up.

(...)

During lunch, Tomoyo explained what had happened to the rest of the group.

"Will they be alright?" Fai asked in concern. Tomoyo smiled, knowing he wasn't only talking about the two confined to the hospital.

"Everyone is going to be fine, don't worry." Suddenly she giggled. "It's like you're everyone's mom sometimes, the way you mother-hen people." Fai looked startled for a moment before breaking into a mischievous smile and turning to Kurogane.

"Then Kuro-puppy must be the daddy!" Kurogane's roar of rage caused more than one other table's occupants to reach for their phones with the intent of calling the police to report and impending homicide

"Don't worry, it's normal!" Tomoyo called cheerily.

"And that's the sad thing," Watanuki muttered. Fai was still grinning and avoiding Kurogane's half-hearted punches when his cell phone rang. He answered without checking who it was, easily catching Kurogane's fist while he was distracted, and missing his look of calculative surprise.

"Hello, Mama Fai speaking!" he chirped. Whatever he heard on the other end made his face go white with fear, and he stood up immediately, leaving everyone without a word. Tomoyo frowned and nearly got up to follow, but Kurogane stopped her.

"Let him tell us when he's ready," he said, though he stared after him intently. However, something told Tomoyo that if Fai did something that her brother classified as "idiotic", he wouldn't hesitate to drag his secrets from him.

(...)

Fai hid behind one of the out-buildings, hiding himself from the red eyed glare he knew was following him.

"Say that again," he hissed into the phone.

"The computer you were having me monitor, he found a picture of you at Valeria High School. If you're still there, you might want to keep a lookout."

"I have to go," he whispered, closing his phone without waiting for a reply. He slid down to the ground, trying to breathe evenly through the panic he was feeling. Before he had fled, he had asked Chi to monitor Ashura's computer and to call if there was anything that could give away his whereabouts. And it had finally happened. He closed his eyes, keeping his mind blank and forcing back memories. He waited until the bell rang, and for a few minutes after that. When he figured that everyone would have gone, he stood, rounding the corner-and straight into Kurogane.

"I'm not going to try and figure out what's going on," he said, grabbing onto Fai's arm and dragging him as he started to walk, "but it's obviously has to do with your past, which, as I said, doesn't matter. One thing though." He stopped and glared down into Fai's carefully blank eyes. "You are planning to run again, that much is obvious. I won't let you do that." Fai looked at him coldly.

"It doesn't concern you to meddle in my life."

"It does concern me," he said. "I'm making it my business. If you want to give up and run, then that's your problem, because you aren't going to give up unless I say you can." Fai smiled coldly.

"I'd like to see you try, Kurogane." Kurogane's face froze in shock at the first time he'd heard the use of his full name from the smaller man. Then his face grew more determined than ever.

"Then tell me this. What will you do if you leave? If you go to another school, it will leave a trail. If you leave, you will know no one, have no one and nothing to rely on that can help you. Stay here with the people who can help you." Fai did not like the reason in his words.

"Fine, I'll stay. But I am going to make you regret it."

"I'm sure you will," he muttered. "When you're ready to actually live your life, tell me. Everything." Fai only snorted.

(...)

After school, Watanuki and Doumeki had their now daily visit with Kohane. They had not mentioned their new knowledge of her job, though Doumeki knew that Watanuki had started to watch all the dramas that she had appeared in. But something seemed off that day, and he wasn't the only one that noticed.

"Is everything alright, Kohane?" Watanuki asked. She hesitated, then nodded, but wouldn't meet their eyes. Watanuki sighed, but only said, "Okay. But you know that if you ever need someone to talk to…" Kohane smiled wanly.

"I know. I want to try to fix things myself, first." Watanuki nodded, ruffling her hair a little. She giggled, but then gasped as she looked behind the two boys.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Doumeki winced internally at the sound of Kohane's mother approaching at a fast clip. "I thought I told you to stay away from my daughter!" She glared dangerously at Watanuki as he was the one closest to Kohane. Doumeki instinctively moved to at least partially block her view of him. Her glare shifted to him.

"They're my friends, mother," Kohane said softly

"No, they're not. They are just going to end up using you for your fame," she hissed. Watanuki stiffened.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked indignantly. Kohane flinched.

"Mother, they didn't know about my job," she whispered.

"Actually, we did," Doumeki said. "We found out from his boss about a week ago."

"But…" Kohane looked confused. "Nothing's changed." Doumeki shrugged.

"You're still you. Why should it have?" Kohane smiled, and Doumeki absolutely did _not_ feel a warmth grow in his chest at Watanuki's grateful expression. Kohane's mother only sneered.

"Stay away from her. I won't ask you again." With that, she dragged her daughter away, Kohane waving a bit as they left.

"That woman makes me so mad," Watanuki seethed, and Doumeki was inclined to agree. Watanuki muttered under his breath the whole way to the shop, Doumeki grunting in agreement whenever it seemed appropriate. Once they got to the shop, they both stopped in surprise at who they saw was outside.

"Umm…Mr. Clow?" Their principal turned at the sound of Watanuki's voice.

"Oh, yes, you work here, don't you?" he asked absentmindedly. Watanuki didn't question why his principal seemed to know where he worked, and blurted out what he was thinking.

"Why are you here?" Clow blinked, then looked back to the shop mournfully.

"I wanted to see how Yuuko was doing, but I don't want to go in and get killed."

"You know Yuuko?"

"Yes. I guess you could say she's my ex. Well, I'll try to find the courage to go in another day. Have fun at work." With that, he left with a pleasant smile. Watanuki and Doumeki watched him leave.

"I think my brain just broke," Watanuki muttered.

(...)

Kamui hated his life. He hated students with no drive, he hated that stupid nurse's persistence, and, most of all, he hated being sick. He sneezed miserably into a Kleenex, trying to breathe through his stuffy nose.

"Don't worry, I'm not contagious," he informed the class at large, ignoring the way his voice came out hoarse and scratchy.

"Shouldn't you be home resting instead of trying to teach us?" asked one of his better students, a cheerful girl named Himawari.

"Eh, I'm fine," he said offhandedly. He really wasn't, having been feeling dizzy all day, but he just put it down to the lack of sleep. He looked at the clock, noting with relief that only an hour and a half remained of the school day. Just had to wait that much longer until he could rest. He cringed at the sound of a cheerful knock on the door. He didn't know that a knock could even sound cheerful, but Fuuma managed it. He glared sleepily as the nurse came in. Fuuma frowned.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, crossing the room and putting a hand to the teacher's forehead.

"I'm fine," Kamui snapped. He unconsciously leaned into the warmth of Fuuma's hand, wondering why it felt so comfortable. Fuuma snorted softly, obviously not believing him.

"You're willingly letting me touch you, and you look more like a cat than usual, only a sleepy one and not an angry one."

"I'm not a cat," Kamui said, flushing as he pulled sharply away from Fuuma's hand, and ignoring the way it made the room spin

"You have a fever. You should be at home, resting, or you will only get worse. This is from a professional opinion," Fuuma said severely. Kamui shrugged.

"The day's almost over. I can last that long. You should get back to your own job so I can get back to mine." Fuuma sighed in frustration, but turned to leave.

"Someone come get me if your stubborn teacher gets any worse," he addressed the class before he left.

"I agree with the nurse," a student named Tomoyo said. Kamui raised an eyebrow, but she looked unrepentant. "He's worried about you, you know."

"It's his job to be," Kamui muttered. Tomoyo looked annoyed.

"It's kind of obvious that he wasn't thinking about his job just now, if you excuse me for saying so." Quite a few other students were nodding in agreement. Kamui tried really hard not to imagine them all planning this.

"That whole flirting thing is just a joke of his, you know that, right?" he asked. He ignored the tightening in his chest when he voiced that, and wasn't entirely sure he kept all the sorrow over the fact out of his voice. Now most of his students were looking at him rather incredulously.

"Dear Lord, he really thinks that," one of them murmured.

"Oh my goodness, my class is matchmaking," he muttered under his breathe. Unfortunately, Tomoyo heard.

"It's not really matchmaking if everyone is just waiting for you to realize that he's serious and admit your own feelings," she said matter of factly.

"I'm too tired to deal with this," Kamui announced. "Just…have free period until the end of class." He refused to indulge in the hope that was trying to rise. He'd been disappointed too many times in the past to expect a happy ending out of this.

(...)

Something was bothering Syaoran, but he didn't really know how to approach it with his brother. Finally he decided to just ask outright one night when they were at home in their apartment.

"Hey, why are you so antagonistic towards Doumeki?" Watanuki froze from where he was working on a math problem.

"Huh?" he asked stupidly, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Syaoran shifted uncomfortably.

"You've never really explained why you aren't all that friendly to Doumeki."

"Well, he's rude, never shows any expressions, eats like he has a never ending black hole for a stomach, barely talks…" he trailed off as his brother continued to look at him, obviously not believing a word he said. He sighed looking down. "He makes me feel weak," he finally murmured. Syaoran frowned in confusion.

"How so?"

"I never asked for him to look out for me! He's always there whenever I manage to make a fool out of myself, which is often. He always manages to save me from one thing or another, and he's always watching. It makes me feel weak, and I never know how to act," he ended miserably. Syaoran looked taken aback, not expecting that kind of response at all.

"I…see?" was all he ended up saying. Watanuki snorted.

"Yeah, I don't get it either." But Syaoran thought he might. And he was not all that pleased. Losing his parents and nearly losing his brother would have made him protective. Add in the fact that Watanuki also lost his memories, he was very protective, even though Watanuki was older. He wasn't really sure he would be ready to give up his brother to Doumeki when Watanuki finally got it.

"Well, he could have chosen worse, I guess," he muttered sullenly, suddenly knowing what it felt like to be Touya.

"Sorry, what?"

"Just complaining about homework," he said as innocently as he could.

"…Right."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I got dragged into a new fandom! So I tried to make this one a bit longer from the last one, and I will get right to work on the next one, 'cause I wanna get this finished before I am off to college!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Everyone noticed that Fai was acting differently. He was mostly silent, not making the jokes he usually would have. Kurogane seemed to be in an equally bad mood. When Fai had gone to get ketchup for his food, Tomoyo immediately looked at her brother.

"What happened?" she hissed. Everyone else at the table was looking at him, also wanting to know what was going on with their friend.

"He's trying to make me regret getting him to not run away," was all he said. Fai returned, sitting heavily in his seat next to Kurogane, not bothering to look at him. "This is just a different kind of annoying, idiot. You're not going to make me change my mind." Fai looked at him icily.

"Thank you for your input, Kurogane." Any conversation that had been going on at the table stopped cold at his words. Kurogane's eye twitched, but he didn't comment, his annoyance with his new title from the other still shining clearly through. Conversation between the others eventually picked up again, but more hushed, and both Kurogane and Fai remained silent for the rest of the break. Fai left earlier than the others, answering Kurogane's sharp look with a cutting remark that he was just meeting with a teacher about a project.

"What was that," Syaoran asked incredulously as soon as he was gone.

"An idiot," Kurogane growled, staring down at what was left of his food.

"We got that," Tomoyo said impatiently. "But why?"

"His past is catching up with him," Kurogane said, figuring that if something was going to happen like Fai so obviously expected it too, they might as well know what he knew. Which was still a lot less than he wanted. He had also noticed that Fai checked his phone every couple of minutes, sometimes twice in one minute. He was also trying to distance himself from the others, as if he could somehow leave them out of the situation of it escalated. He sighed in frustration before leaving the table, not wanting to deal with the others when he needed to think of some sort of solution to the problem.

Tomoyo watched as her brother left, tension strong in the hunched line of his shoulders.

"That really bothered him," Sakura said quietly, also watching him leave.

"The problem with Fai's attitude, or the fact that he actually said his full name?" Tomoyo asked.

"Both," she answered, clearly worried. Watanuki sighed.

"It seems as if nothing is ever easy with those two," he muttered. Tomoyo raised a sardonic eyebrow, but refrained from commenting at Doumeki's long-suffering look.

"I swear, there's so much UST between the people at this school, you could cut it with a spoon," she muttered, nearly fed up with all the could-be couples she had to deal with.

"What's UST?" Syaoran asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Tomoyo said, patting his hand.

("No really, what is?" Himawari asked Sakura. "Unresolved Sexual Tension," she whispered back)

(...)

Kamui had done as suggested, and had stayed home for a day after the incident in the classroom. He would also defend to his last breath that it wasn't in part that he didn't know how to face Fuuma after everything that the students in that class had told him. He didn't want to hope and make a fool out of himself if he and the class was wrong, and he didn't want Fuuma to get hurt like everyone else in his life. It was almost as if sadists were dictating his life and everything that happened to wring more pain out of everyone in their world. He sighed.

"How is this my life," he muttered.

"That is a question that I ask myself every time I meet with my brother," drawled a familiar voice from the doorway. Kamui jerked to attention, facing Fuuma's smirk.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," he answered on autopilot. He tried not to feel nervous, not to let him know that anything was different. But, as he always seemed to do, he was able to see straight through him.

"Something seems to be making you nervous, Kamui," he said appraisingly. Kamui shrugged.

"Just hearing some of the things that my students say," he said vaguely. Fuuma raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to elaborate. "Nothing that would interest you, I'm sure."

"Somehow, I highly doubt that," came Fuuma's dry reply. Kamui only shrugged again. "Anyway, I only came by to make sure that you were feeling better, and that I deny everything that the substitute has accused me of." Kamui dived for the note that had been left, curiosity overtaking him. Fuuma's mouth twitched as he was again reminded of a cat. Kamui read through it swiftly, first raising one eyebrow, then the other, mouth slowly dropping open.

"You did _what?_" Fuuma shrugged.

"I was bored without you there." Kamui laughed at the indignation that was clearly relayed through the angry line of the note, and Fuuma's eyes softened.

"You're a character," Kamui said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. He froze when he felt a gentle touch brush across his cheek, catching a missed droplet. He blushed, eyes going to Fuuma's face and seeing an unreadable emotion there mixed with warm affection. The soft touch continued, tracing a line down the frame of his face, following his jaw line and tilting his chin up. Fuuma's gaze moved down to his lips, which were slightly parted in mute surprise. Students' voices in the hall outside brought him back to reality, and he jerked away, turning so that Fuuma couldn't see his face.

"I…I should get ready for class," he said, hating the way his voice shook. Fuuma didn't reply, but when Kamui dared to look, he saw that the nurse had already left. He shook off any disappointment he might have felt, and returned to his papers. He told himself that he was most certainly not affected by what just happened. He knew how big of a lie that was.

(...)

Tomoyo saw Fuuma walking quickly away from the direction of Kamui's classroom, a pained expression on his normally cheerful face. SO she did what she would do in any similar situation. She followed him back to the nurse's station at a safe distance, observing him for a moment before going in. Fuuma looked up, surprised to see someone there, face back to the cheerful grin.

"What can I do for you?" he asked pleasantly, not letting on how much the younger man had shaken him back in the classroom.

"I want someone to get a happy ending around here," Tomoyo said pleasantly. She could only take so much love-angst at a time, and she could see how close to the edge the two teachers at finding their soul mate.

"I'm not sure how I can help you. Whose happy ending do you want?" he asked, as if this were the normal to be asked for.

"Yours and Kamui's," she answered promptly. His eyes widened in surprise as she went on. "You know he doesn't think that you're serious in your attentions, right? He thinks that you're just joking around, which is a large part of the reason that he is trying to hide his own rather obvious feelings for you." Fuuma opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again.

"He thinks I'm joking?" is what he finally settled on. Tomoyo nodded serenely. Now there was a bit of anger in his eyes. "I'm going to go fix that misconception, if you will excuse me."

"Of course," she said, following him out of the room and wandering back to where her friends waited for school to start.

Later that day, she was not surprised in the least when Clow himself subbed their English class after cheerfully informing them that their teacher was probably making out with a certain nurse somewhere right then. Sakura and Himawari noticed her smug grin.

"You did something," Sakura said with certainty. Tomoyo's smile only grew.

(...)

"I figured out what's wrong with Kohane!" Doumeki looked up at Watanuki from his desk in the math class they shared.

"What?" he asked, trying not to let on that he was also worried about their friend. She had been growing more and more quiet on the days they met and talked. And he did not like the distressed look on Watanuki's face.

"It turns out that another actress just a few years older than her is accusing of stealing roles that are rightfully hers, implying that her mother is using bribery or something like that. Credible sources aren't putting much stock in it, but tabloids are having a field day. Fans of that actress are sending her a lot of hate as well." With each sentence, Watanuki's face grew more sad as he imagined what Kohane must be going through.

"Then we just have to show her what true friends are like," Doumeki said stoically. Watanuki smiled.

"I only wish that that would be enough. From what I hear, her mother is starting to lose it, acting more erratically than usual about her daughter. I don't know how much of that is just rumors, but I worry about how she might act with her daughter at home…"

"Do you think that Yuuko might know something?" Doumeki asked. Watanuki paused.

"She might. She seems like the type who knows everyone."

"Of course I know people in the industry!" Yuuko said that afternoon. "I assume you are asking due to the unfortunate circumstances with your friend Kohane?" Watanuki nodded. "I'll make a few calls, see what I can do. I assume you want me to keep this quiet?" They nodded. "That reminds me," she said, going to her desk. She pulled two slips of paper out. "I came into possession for two passes to be at the filming of a new drama Kohane's in. They're good for anytime this week at WISH Productions."

"Thank you so much, Yuuko!" Watanuki beamed, moving to take them from her hands. She held on to them a second longer, meeting Watanuki's eyes with a serious look.

"Be careful, and accept the help you are given," she said, any trace of teasing gone for those few seconds. Then she smiled again, weird atmosphere disappearing. "I'll go make tea," she called as she skipped to the back.

"That…was weird," Watanuki said slowly, glancing at Doumeki.

"Hmm…"

Later that week, they found themselves being ushered impatiently to the side of a set. Kohane did not know that they were there, as they had wanted to surprise her. Well, Watanuki had wanted to surprise her, and Doumeki just went along with whatever he said. Kohane saw them after a minute, face lighting up as she waved.

Watanuki smiled and waved back while Doumeki simply nodded. She walked quickly over, after looking at the man who was presumably the director for permission. She reached them, hugging Watanuki immediately.

"We came to check on you," he said fondly. "We heard about what was happening, and wanted to make sure that everything was alright." Kohane bit her lip, burying her face in Watanuki's stomach as he stroked her hair.

"Everything's not alright," he heard her mumble. "My mom…" She was interrupted when the director called for her. She looked up at both of them, Watanuki giving her a reassuring smile, and Doumeki patting her on the head. They followed with eyes as she trotted back to where she was needed. Watanuki looked around and finally saw Kohane's mother. She looked strange. She had on nice clothes, but it looked rumpled. Her hair wasn't as neat as it usually was, and she was biting her nails nervously, looking very much on edge. He heard voices near them and looked over to see stage hands conversing quietly, but still loudly enough that he could hear.

"…heard that some people are threatening to sue," one was saying.

"Is that possible?" his companion asked. Watanuki glanced at Doumeki and saw that he was listening as well.

"I don't think there's any proof to harm the girl, but the mother has been known for her pushy ways. More than director has had to have words with her and her demands. The girl hardly talks except for her lines. I hope there's nothing like abuse going on."

"Yeah, that's where some of the magazines are implying. Hope there's no truth behind it…" Watanuki shared a worried look with Doumeki. He noticed that Kohane looked at her mother a lot, a sad look on her face. But he didn't see only sadness. There was also determination there, somehow mixed with a deep hopelessness. It took him a while to notice they had to keep redoing certain scenes, all scenes that she was taking part in. Finally, the director stopped everyone.

"Okay," he said tiredly. "Everyone take five. Kohane, Ms. Tsuyuri, please come over here." The three of them walked towards the boys, standing a little ways off. Watanuki grabbed Doumeki's hand, creeping a little closer so they could hear better.

"I know that you are an excellent actress, Kohane. I've seen many pieces where you are brilliant. But you can't seem to get this character. If this keeps up, we are going to have to drop you." Kohane did not look surprised, and Watanuki saw her glance surreptitiously at her mother.

"She's doing it on purpose," he said slowly, mind working quickly. "The business is changing her mother for the worse, so she's trying to get the both of them out of it!" He looked at Doumeki to see if he agreed, and noticed that he still had hold of his hand. He let it drop quickly as Doumeki nodded, seeing the sense in his words. They looked back to the scene that was unfolding.

"What do you mean drop her," Kohane's mother hissed. "The contract-"

"Is only if she fulfills her side," the director said firmly. "Please, take a few minutes to think about this." He walked away, leaving them to have a private moment. Kohane turned to her mother, who looked livid.

"How dare you embarrass me," she snarled. "You are better than this! Know you are! You only do this so you can have some sort of petty revenge against me!" Her voice had risen to the point that everyone in the room was looking at them. She didn't seem to notice as she continued to rant.

"It was your fault that your father left with that damned secretary! If you had worked harder, if you had just-!" She left off with a noise of rage, raising her hand then bringing it down to strike Kohane's cheek. She paused, huffing in fury, before doing it again. Everyone stared, no one going to help. Until Watanuki ran forward, holding Kohane close as the next blow fell.

"You! You encouraged her to do this!" The next thing he knew, he felt bruising fists rain down on his back as he held Kohane close. He looked up just in time to see the next one coming, and he braced himself. It never landed. Doumeki had grabbed her wrist, staring at her coldly and not saying a word. She stared back. She then collapsed, letting out a pitiful wail. Watanuki looked up to see multiple people with their phones out, most likely calling the authorities. Doumeki let go of the woman, seeing that she wouldn't be moving for a while.

"Idiot," he growled at Watanuki. Watanuki just gave a small smile, holding Kohane close.

"I knew that you would help me," he said. Doumeki didn't know how to respond to that, and so just asked if they were okay.

"I will be. Kohane?" He looked down to see silent tears running down their little friend's face. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? To save your mother from what she was becoming." Kohane nodded into him, hiding her face. He murmured comforting words into her hair until the police and ambulance arrived.

* * *

A/N: Wow, two in one day! And long(er) ones at that! And, can I just say, there are things that were supposed to have happened by now, but they haven't, and it scares me how far this story is getting away from the original plan. At this point, I'm typing almost sooner than the words get into my head! More to come soon!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Tomoyo was spending the night at Sakura's house one weekend, when the topic shifted to the behavior of their friends.

"I'm worried," Sakura said, not for the first time. Tomoyo nodded.

"My dear brother is more insufferable than ever, and Fai is still trying his hardest to keep him away," she sighed.

"Do you have any idea of what is going on?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Only that Fai seems have something about his past that he's trying to hide," she answered. She didn't know a lot about Fai; no one did, despite the amount of time they all spent together. Kurogane was the one that knew him best, and that wasn't even the right word. More like, he understood him.

"I just wish that Fai could at least tell Kurogane," Sakura said sadly. Tomoyo nodded.

"Unfortunately, Fai is the type who blames himself. Whatever happened, you can be sure that he is ashamed or frightened of what we'd think if we ever found out. Especially if my brother found out." She sighed. "He really just needs to learn to tell people what he's feeling."

"He's not the only," Sakura said as they heard the front door open.

"Monster, Yukito's here, too. I'm going to make supper," Touya called down the hall.

"I'm not a monster!" she yelled back, though it was clear that it was only for form as she glared worriedly in the direction of her brother and friend. Tomoyo cocked an eyebrow.

"Touya hasn't mentioned anything about what happened at the accident, and Yukito's been acting all guilty lately," she explained quietly.

"So they haven't worked anything out yet?"

"Nope."

"Men," Tomoyo sighed despairingly.

"Can't you help, like with Kamui and Fuuma? And don't deny it, I know that you did something," Sakura pleaded.

"I'm not going to match-make aggressively between people I know well," she said. "Gentle hints, I will do, but not pointing out the obvious."

"Maybe you'll change your mind when you see how they act," was the answer she got. They moved on to lighter topics until Touya called them in for dinner. Tomoyo immediately saw what Sakura had been talking about, seeing a slight stiffness in Yukito, and the way that Touya seemed especially gentle around him.

"Are you feeling better, Yukito?" she asked. She hadn't really had a chance to see him after the accident. Touya glanced at Yukito as he answered.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you," he said. Tomoyo frowned innocently.

"But are you still in pain? You don't seem as cheerful as usual." Yukito glanced swiftly at Touya before looking back at Tomoyo.

"I'll be fine," he said.

"That's good," Tomoyo said serenely before going back to chatting with Sakura. She didn't look too surprised when Touya stood up abruptly.

"Come with me," he said shortly, grabbing Yukito and dragging him with him as he went to his room. The door was closed firmly after them, a clear indication that no interruptions would be brooked. Tomoyo immediately stood up, getting two empty glass cups and going to the door, Sakura following right behind. She held the glass up to the door so that she could hear better, and felt Sakura copy her.

"…is right, you haven't been your usual self. Please tell me what's wrong!"

"It's nothing," Yukito answered after a moment.

"Bullshit," Touya snorted. "Is this about me giving you my blood?" Silence. "You know I don't blame you for that."

"But you shouldn't have had to do it in the first place!"

"You were hurt! Do you think that I could ignore it when someone I care about is hurt?"

"But-"

"But nothing. You are important to me, and I'd be damned before I let something happen to you that causes you pain." More silence. Tomoyo and Sakura glanced at each other, a bit surprised at Touya's outburst.

"Why am I so important to you?" Yukito finally asked softly.

"You don't get?" Touya asked softly. "After all these years?"

"I've only known what I wished it to be." They could barely hear Yukito's voice at that confession.

"Then I have to tell you that we want the same thing." Tomoyo drew away, smile on her face.

"I think we should move the sleepover to my place, don't you think?" she asked her blushing friend. Sakura nodded. They slipped a note under the door that they suspected wouldn't be noticed for quite a while longer.

(...)

Yuuko was in back of the shop when the bell rang to announce a customer.

"Hello, she called as she came to the front. She stopped cold when she saw who it was. "What the hell are you doing here, Clow?" she asked in irritation.

"Um, hello, Yuuko," he said sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Can we talk?"

Watanuki and Doumeki walked into the shop not long after, and found the two of them sitting at a small table, drinking tea. Watanuki blinked, shrugged, and went to put his school things away. Doumeki gave him a look, clearly wondering why he wasn't freaking out like he usually would be.

"I have decided that nothing that happens here is going to surprise me anymore," he answered the silent question resolutely. Yuuko snorted-at his ability to know what Doumeki was asking or at what he said, he wasn't sure. She sent him to sorting before getting back to her conversation with Clow. But she let him stew first. She sipped her tea, and thought over the changes she'd seen in her employee. She had heard of the incident at the studio-she did have connections almost everywhere, after all, and she also knew what Watanuki had said to her the next day he came to work.

"I…wanted to thank you for what you said," he had said. "About accepting the help that is given to me. I don't think I would have had to courage to stop Kohane's mother if I hadn't known-hadn't accepted-that Doumeki would be here to save me." Yuuko smiled.

"You are learning, changing. This is a good thing. Once you are able to change, you change your future. By accepting the help that others, and not just Doumeki, can give, you are opening yourself up to new possibilities in your relationships. No one really belongs to themselves-people are meant to rely on each other." Watanuki nodded, eyes straying to where Doumeki was ostensibly giving them some privacy to talk. As Watanuki had been talking, Yuuko hadn't missed the glances Doumeki threw their way to make sure that his…friend was alright.

"That reminds me, how is your back?" Watanuki winced. He had been pretty bruised from the punches he had received.

"Nothing that really bothers me," he had said She had forbidden him from any heavy lifting for the next few days, and that had been the end of it the conversation, if not the effects. She noticed that he was more accepting of Doumeki's help, only complaining a little when he permanently took the jobs for things in high places, or for things that would be too heavy for him, and not as hard for someone with years of archery behind him. She smiled fondly before coming back to the present. She was going to have words with Clow…

(...)

Kurogane was getting very close to losing what little temper he had left concerning Fai. He had figured that the blonde would keep the bad attitude up only long enough to make a point, but no. He hadn't let up making his life miserable for one second that they were in the same general area. From the looks he was seeing from the others, he assumed that he wasn't the only one on the receiving of the cold looks and lack of humor.

He barely ate anything when he was with them at the lunch table, and Kurogane was willing to bet that he ate just as little at home. Not only that, but dark circles lined his eyes, showing many nights with little or no sleep. His grades were steadily beginning to drop, and even the teachers were noticing his newfound silence.

Kurogane did not to like to show when he was worried, or when he cared about people. He would gladly just show anger, because that was when he felt that he was strong enough to protect the people around him. But he didn't know how to deal with the Fai was being. He knew that physical strength would not be able to help in this case, and he just _didn't know what to do!_

Unfortunately, he thought he might have been taking it out a bit on Syaoran during their kendo practices after school. Fai, needless to say, didn't come to watch anymore, though Sakura occasionally still came. It was after he had yelled at the kid to check his form that he realized what he was doing. He sighed, and let his sword drop.

"Sorry," he said gruffly.

"For what?" Syaoran asked. He felt a wave of affection that startled him. He knew the kid had known that he was taking out his anger on him, but had decided to pretend that he didn't notice.

"You know what for," he said. Syaoran hesitated, then nodded.

"It's fine. We all know how worried you are." Kurogane rubbed the back of neck, wondering when exactly he had become so transparent. Probably when he had started to hang out with the dumbass, he thought, chagrined.

"So long as he gets his shit together, before I have go to drastic measures," he said with a grin that told Syaoran that he might like to get the "drastic measures" part, so that he might have a bit of revenge.

They continued on with the practice, Kurogane being more patient, which Syaoran greatly appreciated. He didn't show it, but he knew that his arms were going to be sore in the morning from the amount of force that the senior had been putting behind his swings.

"By the way," Kurogane said, annoyance creeping back into his voice. Syaoran looked up from where he was taking his water break. "My sister ordered me to tell you that a kid in their science class is getting up the courage to ask Sakura out." He watched in mild amusement as the water the kid was drinking made an unexpected second appearance.

"O-oh?" he stuttered, wiping his mouth and looking around for a cloth to clean up the spray. "That's…good for her…if she's happy…" he trailed off with the look of a kicked puppy.

"You're fooling no one, kid," Kurogane snorted. Syaoran's face went bright red. "Look," he said uncomfortably, scratching his head. "You kinda obviously adore her, so just ask her okay? You might get the answer you want." He would definitely get the answer he wants, but hell if Kurogane was going to say that.

After practice, Kurogane shouldered his bag, making sure the kid was out before he locked up. The coach had given him the key to use, knowing that Kurogane wouldn't be the kind of person to misuse it. The fact that he had led the kendo team to championships certainly didn't make a mark against him, either. He turned toward his car, and by chanced glanced to the road by field. His eyes stopped when he saw a car parked there, a man with longer black hair leaning against it. Watching. Kurogane narrowed his eyes. He didn't like this. Not one bit.

(...)

Early in the day, Syaoran found Sakura. She was talking to Tomoyo and Himawari, and h approached nervously. The calculating look in Tomoyo's eye, saying that she knew exactly what was about to happen, did not give him any confidence at all.

"Um…SakuracanItalktoyou?" he asked in a rush. She blink, startled.

"Huh?" He took a deep breath.

"Would you mind talking to me for a moment? Privately?" She nodded cheerfully.

"Sure!" They walked a bit off so that they would not be overheard. Syaoran tried not to think of how badly this could go.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked. He took a nervous breath.

"I like you," he said as calmly as he could, looking her straight in the eye. She gasped, going a bright red. "Would you consider going out with me?" She was silent for a long moment, hiding her face, and he felt his heart drop. She finally looked up, beaming joyfully at him.

"Of course I will!" she said, reaching out to hug him. He held her for a long moment, not really believing what just happened.

"I told you it would work out well," came a voice. They jerked apart, both blushing as they saw Tomoyo and Himawari a few feet away. Tomoyo had a video camera pointed at them, hand to her cheek with a happy smile. Himawari also looked very pleased. "Okay, now for Doumeki and Watanuki. Have you noticed they seem to be on better terms?"

"I think Tomoyo secretly controls everyone's lives," Syaoran whispered. Sakura did not disagree.

At lunch, when they arrived together shyly holding hands, no one was surprised. There was a chorus of "Finally!" that had both of them feeling rather unobservant. Even Fai came out of his gloom enough to hug Sakura and whisper "I'm happy for you, princess." Kurogane even had the hope that this could be the kick that he needed to get him to his usual-annoying-self. He remembered the man of yesterday, and his thoughts darkened. He wouldn't mention it to Fai. Not yet.

(...)

Doumeki woke with a bad feeling in his gut. The last time he had felt that uneasy was the day when someone close to him had died. Haruka noticed something was up, and asked what was wrong. Doumeki only shook his head. The feeling persisted, growing as the morning dragged on. When he arrived at school, no one seemed to notice his preoccupation, which he didn't really mind. Not showing too much emotion did tend to have the effect that no one would ask annoying questions. At least, not until he was walking with just Watanuki to their first class.

"Is something the matter?" he asked. Doumeki had been surprised that, recently, Watanuki hadn't been his usual caustic self when around him. He still lashed out, but with definite less frequency than before. He had a suspicion that it was the effect of the words that Yuuko had said when she had given them the passes to see Kohane, but he wasn't sure.

"Something just feels…off," he answered Watanuki's question.

"Hmm…Oh, Yuuko told me that she was able to make a few calls and stop all the tabloid gossip of Kohane and her mother. That woman's influence is truly frightening, and I think that it would just get worse if she got back together with our principal. My boss and my principal dating is…a scary idea, especially since they are so eccentric. But then again, most of the people I hang out with are rather crazy, now that I think about it." By now, they had climbed the stairs to the second story of the school, large windows stretching down the hall allowing people to view the city as they passed. Doumeki grunted agreement with his assessment of the mental state of their friends, kneeling down to pick up a pencil that had been dropped.

He didn't see the group kids pushing at each other as they came towards them.

He didn't see one push the other too hard, sending him crashing towards them.

What he did hear was the sound of surprise, the crash of shattering glass, and the sudden absence of someone who should not have gone from his side.

* * *

A/N: That last bit was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be (for those who read xxxholic, I didn't want to pick on Himawari). And I left you with another cliff hanger! Yippee! I fixed it so that it's easier to tell between the POV changes, so I hope that helps. Anyway, I will try to continue at this pace and have another one up soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Kurogane was with Fai when they got the news. Everyone was talking about the kid that had fallen from the second story window, which would cause enough alarm, but it wasn't until Himawari had texted Fai that they found out that it was Watanuki. Fai's face went completely white, and he swayed dangerously as he wordlessly handed his phone to Kurogane.

"Shit," he swore. He grabbed Fai's hand and ran, following the crowd of morbidly curious students. Those who knew they were friends of Watanuki's let them through; others he just shoved out of their way. They got there just as the ambulance was pulling away. Tomoyo, and Himawari were already there, standing close to a large pool of blood and broken glass.

"Oh, God," Fai whispered. "Oh my God, not this, anything but this. Not again." He was shaking, keeping a death grip on Kurogane's hand. He hadn't missed what he had said, but he could wait till later to question him.

"Tomoyo!" he called. She looked up, pale and the least composed he had ever seen his sister, even the day of their parent's funeral.

"Some kids were messing around and bumped into him," she said softly, having gotten the story from people who had been there when it had happened. "He fell through…through the window. Doumeki was there when it happened. He was trying to stop the blood, and got cut a lot, so they took him as well." She hesitated, then said, "I don't think he would have left him in any case. He looked…scared, so scared. I-I don't know where Syaoran is." As soon as she said that, he heard someone running towards them. He instinctively moved to the side, catching Syaoran and turning him so that he didn't have time to see the carnage left on the ground.

"They said-they said that he-" Syaoran looked up at him through panicked eyes, breathe coming sharply.

"They took him to the hospital. I don't know how bad it is," Kurogane said firmly. He saw that Sakura had arrived just behind him. Fai had actually stopped being a dick and was holding her to his chest so that she couldn't see. He could tell that a large part of the embrace was for the blonde's benefit as well, eyes blank as he stared at an internal memory that was probably worse than what they had seen here.

"Come on," he said to the group, starting for the parking lot. "We're ditching. We can all fit in my car." The rest followed him silently, and no one tried to stop them. It could have been out of sympathy, or it could have been because of the murderous glint in Kurogane's eye that dared them to try and interfere. As he was getting in the car (which really didn't legally have enough for everyone, but, really, this was an emergency), he could have sworn he saw the same black haired man he'd seen earlier at the edge of campus, getting into a car. Bu then all that was in his head was the need to get to the hospital.

The nurse on duty did not looked impressed with the influx of people. Tomoyo, the one who could act the calmest, went to talk to her.

"I'm sorry, but two of our friends were admitted here not too long ago. Their names are Doumeki and Watanuki?" The nurse checked the computer and sighed.

"The one who just got cut with the glass will be awake in an hour or so. He wouldn't calm down, so the doctors gave him a sedative. The other one…I can't tell you what's going to happen to him. He's in surgery right now." She had spoken loud enough so that the others, standing a few feet away, were able to hear. Syaoran made a pained sound in the back of his throat. Sakura gently led him to a seat, speaking softly in his ear. Tomoyo sat on his other side, placing a comforting hand on his back and rubbing in a small circle as Himawari leaned against her to draw support. Kurogane leaned against the wall and crossed his arm, glaring at the world in general. Fai looked lost for a moment before he went next to Kurogane, close enough that their sleeves brushed. Kurogane raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on Fai's temporary truce. The nurse sent them disapproving looks every few minutes, mumbling about truancy, but was ignored.

Nearly fifteen minutes had passed when an older man came in to the waiting room, looking worried.

"Haruka," Syaoran called lowly. The man, Doumeki's grandfather, going by the resemblance, joined their group.

"Any word?" he asked. Everyone shook their heads. Not long after that, a doctor stepped through the doors leading to the back. He immediately singled out Haruka, who walked up to him, Kurogane close behind.

"I'm Doumeki's grandfather," he said without preamble. The doctor nodded and looked at the chart in his hand.

"We've finished stitching him up, but we are keeping him sedated for a while longer so he doesn't tear them out. He was very worried for his friend." Haruka looked surprised.

"You mean, you could actually tell what he was thinking? There's a first. It would figure that it would be because of him, though. Any word on the friend, Watanuki?" The doctor shook his head.

"He's still in surgery. It's too soon to tell the extent of the damage." Kurogane went back to the others to report the news as Haruka and the doctor both went to the back area to check on Doumeki. Syaoran continued to hold on to Sakura like a lifeline, and who could blame the kid? Watanuki was the only family he had left. Well, only family connected by blood, Kurogane thought, looking over everyone doing their best to be there for him. His eyes settled on Fai. Earlier, he had said "not again". There are only so many things that could mean. And he was willing to bet that whatever-whoever-he was thinking about probably didn't have a good ending. As soon as they knew if Watanuki was alright, he was going to demand answers, consequences be damned.

Fai felt the weight of a familiar gaze, and looked up to meet determined red eyes. He knew his time had run out, and that he couldn't run from Kurogane anymore. He looked down again, fighting to control his outward appearance of calm. He heard the door the emergency room open, but didn't bother to look up.

"Yuui." He knew that voice. The voice that he had hoped to never hear again, calling him by the name that he given up years ago. He looked up slowly, mind desperately trying to reject what he knew he was going to face. His eyes met the figure with dark hair and a gentle smile, with blank, empty eyes.

"Ashura."

Kurogane had known something was off as soon as the man had entered the room. He knew for certain that it was the man he had seen haunting the peripheries of the school. He knew things were going to get ugly the moment his eyes had landed on Fai.  
"Yuui," the man said, as if he were happy to see him. Yuui? Who was Yuui? Then he saw Fai raise his head, looking as if his world had just ended.

"Ashura," he whispered. The man continued smiling.

"I had wondered where you were hiding. I knew that it would be hard to find you, since everyone you ever loved is dead." Fai flinched, and Kurogane wondered how the man, Ashura could say such things so…happily. By now, everyone in the room was watching what would happen.

"Not everyone," Fai whispered.

"Oh, but if you had loved me, you would not have left after what you did to Fai," he said in the same tone he had said everything up till then. Kurogane was now certain that this man was not entirely sane. Puzzle pieces of the things he knew were starting to add up, and he didn't like the picture it was forming. Fai whimpered, looking on the verge of collapse.

"Excuse me," Kurogane said firmly as he stepped forward. He heard movement behind him, but didn't pay it any attention. "I don't know who you are, but I think it's time you left." Those empty eyes turned to him.

"I'm sorry, but this is family business," he said, voice much colder. Kurogane narrowed his eyes.

"He's already part of a family," he growled, shifting to show how their friends had all stood up to stand behind Fai. The smile finally disappeared off of Ashura's face.

"We have a problem, then," he said. "You see, Yuui has a debt to repay, and I can't let him leave without him giving me what I want. Besides, you won't want him after you learn what he's done."

"Don't," Fai pleaded. "Please, don't tell them, they don't need to know. I-I'll go with you, just please-"

"Oh, but I think they deserve to know, especially the self-important one, what is your name?"

"None of your damn business," Kurogane ground out.

"So rude," Ashura sighed. "Maybe I should teach him a lesson like I taught you, though in a more…direct fashion." His hand went behind his back and when he brought it forward again, it wasn't empty.

"Shit," Kurogane mumbled, eyes trained on the gun the man held with too much familiarity for him to think he had a chance to get it away with any ease. He heard the nurse gasp, and Ashura's attention turned to her.

"I wouldn't bother contacting the police. It appears there's been a little fire at the station, and the phones are probably badly burned," he said casually.

"Ashura, please," Fai whispered. "This is between you and me. Don't involve them." Ashura looked disappointed.

"Won't you call me uncle? It's nice to recognize your family, don't you think?"

"This wacko's your uncle?" Kurogane asked incredulously. Fai winced

"I'd rather that you not call me that," Ashura said coolly. Kurogane did not miss the way that his hand had tightened infinitesimally near the trigger.

"Uncle," Fai said desperately, trying to appease him in some way. The man only smiled.

"Yuui is responsible for his twin's death. They caused the sickness of their father, and the suicide of their mother. All they had to do was repent, but Yuui wouldn't. Pride must have its fall, and so did Fai. It was only suiting."

"You son of a bitch," Kurogane growled. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this murderous psychopath had assisted in the fall of F…the other twin to punish Yu- their Fai. Even with the apparent name exchange, that he was most certainly not going to point out. "You place all the blame on some kids who had nothing to do with the chances and decisions of others? Jesus, how old were you?" This last was directed at Fai, who looked as if he had simply given up.

"Twelve," he whispered, and Kurogane cursed again. No wonder he seemed so broken. He risked a glance to see what the others were doing. Syaoran had managed to get Sakura behind the desk where the nurse was cowering. Himawari had joined them, but Tomoyo still stood firmly behind them. Syaoran also stood his ground behind Fai, looking determined. He hoped the kid wasn't going to do anything stupid. Where was everyone else in this damned hospital?

It was then that he noticed the way that Fai was looking at him. It was as if he expected him to hate or judge him, as if he would also blame him for what his uncle had said.

"Tch. Dumbass," he muttered. Fai heard anyway, and relaxed slightly, as much as anyone could in a situation like this one. No one else seemed to notice, but as he turned back to Ashura, he knew he was wrong. The man was losing the cool air and was looking between them, a manic gleam growing in his eye. Then he laughed, short and harsh.

"Perhaps I should have made your punishment worse," he said, "if I knew you would go and fall in love with a pawn like this." Kurogane snorted.

"Check your eyes, old man. I'm no one's pawn." And then he moved. He immediately dodged out of the way, and Ashura's first shot went wild. Kurogane kicked, hitting the hand that held the gun and sending it flying. Ashura was not yet defenseless, and landing a blow that made him stagger back. He got bearings back quickly, but froze at what he saw. Ashura had pulled a knife from somewhere on his person, and was holding it at Fai's throat. His eyes had lost any trace of sanity that he might have had, eerily calm. That was scarier than any raving and ranting could ever be.

"That's quite enough of that, I think," he said. Kurogane gave no outward sign that he was desperately trying to find some way to save Fai. Then he heard a click behind him. Ashura's eyes shifted for one crucial second. Fai ducked as Ashura's arm slackened and Kurogane flew forward once more. He pushed Fai to the side, out of harm's way, one second before a searing pain entered his shoulder. He stumbled back, hand hovering above the knife that was now embedded to the hilt in his shoulder. He forced a scream of pain down as his conscious began to fade at the edges from the overwhelming agony. Instead, he grasped the hilt and gave one large pull, removing the blade along with an alarming amount of blood. He turned it around, dodged a wild blow from Ashura, and hit his head as hard as he could with the hilt. Ashura dropped.

"Bastard," Kurogane muttered, right before he collapsed.

* * *

A/N: And I totally did not finish this before I started college. But now I did! And now it is Labor Day weekend and I have finished this instead of hanging at the beach on my club trip to San Diego. Nah, I finished an essay and now I'm waiting for my sister to finish her homework in a Starbucks, so thank her that I'm posting this. Then I can play in the ocean. Just one more chapter my lovelies! And I swear it will not take as long a time to finish. I might even finish it this weekend!


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